


In The Sunlight

by azureheavens



Series: Misc Hilclaude AUs [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, First Date, First Kiss, Gift Fic, One Shot, Short One Shot, bro we are teens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:00:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26149840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azureheavens/pseuds/azureheavens
Summary: “Ready, set...” The half-bored game attendant stepped back from the net. Khalid gripped the well-used basketball in both hands, poised to shoot. “Go!”Loud surfer music crackled from old, tinny speakers. The first ball bounced off the backboard, falling into the hoop. The second one swished through the net with ease, but the third one wasn’t as lucky, scraping off the side of the hoop before rolling uselessly back to the start.“Let's go, Khalid!” Hilda cheered. “You can do it!”
Relationships: Hilda Valentine Goneril/Claude von Riegan
Series: Misc Hilclaude AUs [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2063010
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	In The Sunlight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mani86](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mani86/gifts).



> Outing myself as a California Girl by setting this at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk 🏄🤙 Another prize from my Twitter giveaway!

“Ready, set...” The half-bored game attendant stepped back from the net. Khalid gripped the well-used basketball in both hands, poised to shoot. “Go!” 

Loud surfer music crackled from old, tinny speakers. The first ball bounced off the backboard, falling into the hoop. The second one swished through the net with ease, but the third one wasn’t as lucky, scraping off the side of the hoop before rolling uselessly back to the start. 

“Let's go, Khalid!” Hilda cheered. “You can do it!” 

“Of course, I can!” He furrowed his brow and sank another shot. “Just need to get into...” As soon as the ball reached the bottom, he had another ball in the air. Shot after shot, with some skipping off the rim, a steady beat began as the points racked up. _Swish, swish, swish._ “There! See?” Khalid grinned over his shoulder at Hilda, still shooting. “Just needed to find the rhythm.” 

“Wow, amazing...!” Hilda watched as the score ticked higher and higher. Khalid never broke eye contact with her. “But um, shouldn’t you at watch what you’re doing?” 

_Swish._ “Oh?” _Swish, swish._ “You think so?” His grin grew wider. 

At last, the buzzer sounded and the music stopped. The words _New Record_ flashed above his score. Soon enough Hilda was the proud owner of a white teddy bear, about as big as her torso, with a pilot’s cap, goggles, and scarf sown on. The attendant handed it over with a mildly impressed congratulations.

Hilda squeezed it as they started down the boardwalk again. She freed one arm to give Khalid a hug as they walked. “Thank you! He’s so cute!” 

“All good dates end with a souvenir, so this one is yours,” Khalid declared, slinging his arm around her shoulders. This was their second round up the boardwalk, waves and sand on one side and the famous wooden roller coaster on the other. They already finished every ride, but Khalid’s eyes were on the sky, picking out their next target. Still, they only had twenty minutes before Holst would pick them up, and Hilda didn’t want to spend those minutes strapped to a chair, spinning around and screaming. 

In the distance, the beach sparkled under the dazzling sun, making Hilda wish she had suggested they swim. Maybe next time if they decided to come again? This was just the first date after all, but if Khalid wasn’t enjoying himself... 

Khalid squeezed her shoulder before pulling his arm away. “Hey, promise you’ll get me a souvenir since I got you Captain Fluffles?” 

Hilda blinked. “Captain what?” 

“Captain Fluffles! Retired air force, now a commercial pilot to support his family. A hero _and_ a family man, what more could you want?” 

“Um, how about a better name?” Hilda laughed, but it didn’t sound half bad. _I_ _don’t_ _know if I could win him anything cool,_ she thought, _but I could always try buying something...?_ She was about to pull him into the closest shop when Khalid gasped, gripping her wrist. 

Hilda turned, but he wasn’t looking at her. His eyes were fixed across the boardwalk. Multicolored lights flashed around what was unmistakably a strongman game: Grab the hammer, slam the pad, ring the bell, win the prize. Rows of colorful frogs and cats were hung around the game, but sitting on top of the bell was a white stuffed dragon with silver claws and large green eyes. 

Khalid turned slowly, giving Hilda the most convincing pleading face she had ever seen. “Pretty please...?” 

* * *

“So,” Hilda began as they sat on a bench by the parking lot, a stuffed animal in each lap. “Are you happy now that you have Pudding?” 

“Are you kidding? I adore Pudding. Sweetest thing she could be.” Khalid watched Hilda wryly, then walked the doll to Captain Fluffles, breaking into a falsetto. _“Thank you dearly for saving me from that awful bell tower. Every time it rang, it gave me such a headache!”_

Hilda giggled. She faced the bear to the dragon. “ _You’re very welcome!_ ” she said in a deep voice. “ _All in a day’s work for Captain Fluffles..._ Sheesh, what are we even doing!” 

Khalid shook his head. “No clue.”

“All that spinning and screaming on those rides scrambled our brains,” Hilda teased, nudging him. “You know, we should bring our swimsuits next time! The water looked perfect today. I wish I had thought about it when you asked me out.” 

Khalid raised a brow. “Planning the second date already, are we?” 

After considering it a moment, Hilda shrugged. "Why not?" She scooted closer until they sat thigh to thigh. “I had fun today.” 

He smiled warmly. "Me too, Hilda." He nodded down to the stuffed animals on their laps, making Pudding’s head rest on Captain Fluffles. 

Hilda smiled too and looked up at him, startled at how close his face was. He leaned in closer, his smiling green eyes holding hers, making her heart flutter. _Well..._ she thought, _if a good date ends with souvenirs, then a_ _**great** date ends with... _Hilda closed her eyes and waited. 

And waited. 

She was about to open her eyes when she got a faceful of stuffed dragon. Khalid grinned and made loud smooching noises before Hilda pushed it away. She shot him a glare, but lost it as he kissed her for real. Heat sparked in her stomach, followed by a wave of coolness, the current drawing her in. She closed her eyes as Khalid’s arm wrapped around her waist, the dolls snuggled up on their laps. All her annoyance washed away as they kissed, the warmth from the sparkling sun seeping into her very bones. 

Then annoyance flooded back when Holst blasted his car horn to break them apart.

Khalid shot to his feet. Hilda groaned furiously. What horrible timing! They were having an amazing, fantastic, _perfect_ first kiss on their first date and her big brother had to ruin it! 

But she decided not to let it be the end. Hilda stood and pulled Khalid back in for a kiss, taking her sweet time while her brother kept honking. Satisfied, they broke apart in a laugh and walked to Holst’s car, holding their prizes close as well as each other. 


End file.
